Foxwoods, Fall River developing host agreement after South End site picked

Thursday

Mar 13, 2014 at 8:58 PMMar 14, 2014 at 6:39 AM

Foxwoods Casino Resort and the investment group Crossroads Massachusetts LLC have taken one more step toward developing a destination resort casino in the city.

Jo C. Goode Herald News Staff Reporter @jgoodeHN

FALL RIVER — Foxwoods Casino Resort and the investment group Crossroads Massachusetts LLC have taken one more step toward developing a destination resort casino in the city with the decision to build on two commercial sites in the South End.

One of the properties closely abuts the Letourneau Elementary School.

While David Nunes, the chief development officer for Foxwoods, continues to refuse to identify the exact location of the announced 30-acre parcel, The Herald News, through a reliable source, was able to identify a site on Wednesday.

The parcels include the New Harbour Mall and the Kmart shopping center, which represents approximately 28 acres. The other site is the Staples store location near the mall, which adds another 3.36 acres, according to Kenneth Fiola Jr., executive vice president of the Fall River Office of Economic Development on Thursday.

Mayor Will Flanagan said bringing a casino to the city “is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”

“This could be the last opportunity to bring a project of this magnitude to the community,” Flanagan said.

Flanagan said he’s in preliminary talks to work out a community host agreement with Foxwoods. Once the agreement is complete, the issue of allowing the casino to be built in Fall River can go to the voters.

The vote could come as early as late May or early June, Flanagan said. The ballots will contain the details of the host agreement so voters know what they’re voting on.

“I expect the vote will be close — that’s why every vote will count,” Flanagan said.

The casino developers would invest $750 million in the project, which would include a 140,000-square-foot gambling floor, approximately 20 restaurants, a 350-room hotel, a “name brand” shopping mall, an entertainment arena, a convention center and spa.

The investment, Flanagan said, will create 3,000 to 5,000 jobs — and with the city's 15 percent unemployment rate, that would be a boon to the community.

The project will also stabilize the city’s financial woes through the host agreement, he said.

“We have a $10 million budget gap and if the project goes through in the first year, the city would receive $15 million,” Flanagan said. “That would close the gap and add $5 million to spend on more economic development.”

Of the six site proposals given to Foxwoods, which were located on the waterfront, in the North End and in the South End, only the New Harbour Mall area was feasible, Flanagan said.

“There was either too much contamination, lacked utilities or the price point was unattainable,” Flanagan said.

Flanagan said he has concerns about the proximity of the Letourneau Elementary School to the proposed casino, but said when construction begins they will mitigate any disruption and the site design will have the least impact on the school.

Foxwoods is currently in the process of drawing up an option agreement with the property owners which will transfer to a purchase and sales agreement, Nunes said.

With a deadline of July 27 to submit its application, Nunes said there’s a lot of work to do in a short period of time.

“We’re very serious and our commitment to Fall River is 110 percent. We think it’s an excellent opportunity for us and an excellent opportunity for the city,” Nunes said.

This is Foxwoods' second attempt to build a casino in Massachusetts. Last year, Milford rejected a plan to build a $1 billion resort casino when 60 percent of the voters rejected the proposal.

In November, the state’s Gaming Commission gave a “positive determination of suitability” to Foxwoods to run a casino in Massachusetts. The gambling company is seeking a commercial license to operate the casino in southeastern Massachusetts, known as Region C.

Foxwoods has competition. The Mashpee Wampanoag have a proposal on the table for a $1 billion resort casino in Taunton.

In January, the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs approved a compact between the Mashpee Wampanoag and the state. They are awaiting a decision on a land-in-trust application with the federal Department of the Interior.

The gaming regulations require community host agreements, but it also allows for a surrounding community agreements for any nearby municipality to the host community that might be impacted by a casino.

Although Tiverton is less than a mile away from the casino site, it isn’t eligible for such an agreement.

Elaine Driscoll, spokeswoman for the Massachusetts Gaming Commission, said the state statute on gaming only allows for the state’s cities and towns to enter into surrounding community agreements.

Tiverton officials were as surprised as the rest of the region when Fall River announced the agreement by Foxwoods Casino to buy a 30-acre sit in the south end of the city.

“This is the first we have heard of this,” said Tiverton Council President Edward Roderick. “We knew they were in talks, but we didn’t know where.”

Roderick said he did not yet know what Tiverton’s role would be if a casino is sited close to the town line.

“A casino that close to us will, obviously, bring in more traffic and more people,” he said. “It is something we will have to look at and discuss.”

Town officials met Thursday morning to discuss what the town’s role would be in the casino development.

“We don’t really have the same rights as communities in the Commonwealth,” Town Administrator Matthew Wojcik said. “It is really early in the development of this. We will watch it closely to see how it goes.”

How the casino will affect the Maplewood area of the city where the proposed casino could be located is unknown.

Earle Gaudette, president of the Maplewood Neighborhood Association said he has mixed emotions about a casino in his back yard and given the dire circumstances the city is in.

It’s too early in the process, said Gaudette, who has spoken with people who favor of the casino and those who do not. Gaudette is not taking it to his membership because it is their decision to make, he said.

While the city could potentially see a windfall of funds if the casino project is successful, Flanagan said, he is not building the hoped-for revenue in the fiscal 2015 budget.

With the site located in his district, Rep. Alan Silvia said he’s been receiving calls from constituents, both pro and con on the casino proposal.

“I want to hear from people, especially those who live in the Maplewood area,” Silvia said. “Those folks live in and around the site and will be the most impacted.”

Like Flanagan, Silvia doesn’t think the approval of the casino will be a slam dunk.

Flanagan said the next steps will be an announcement of the concept of the project and a series of public forums. The first is planned for next week, although Flanagan said details are not yet available.